Chapter 32: I Dare Not Be the First to Stick My Neck Out!

"Leave? We were beaten for nothing, and you expect us to just walk away? Is this how you run things?"

Su Yu was truly a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger. The onlookers around them whispered nervously, urging him to leave and not provoke the people from the black market. Couldn't he see that they were armed with guns?

But Su Yu didn't see it that way. The leader had been reasonable only because there were so many witnesses present. However, the fact remained that they had caused a commotion in the black market; regardless of who had instigated it, if the group wanted to cause trouble, they would have plenty of opportunities later.

To walk away empty-handed after being struck would not be his style. Besides, with so many people watching, he didn't believe they would dare to open fire.

"Kid, don't be ungrateful. If Brother Fox tells you to leave, then get lost, or don't blame us for being impolite."

Fox blocked the man who had spoken. Seeing Su Yu’s indignant expression—as if he wouldn't let it go without an explanation—he realized he might have run into a stubborn fool.

"Speak. What do you want?"

"You broke the rules. Compensating for medical expenses—that's not too much to ask, is it?"

Su Yu knew they were street toughs and that he lacked the strength to extort them, but asking for something reasonable was different. With so many onlookers, they wouldn't dare be too aggressive.

"Fine, that's reasonable. How much do you want?"

"Fifty."

One dared to ask, and the other dared to demand. But the opposition were not idiots; how could they agree to that?

"Fifty is impossible. Your friend's arm isn't broken; at most, it’s a hairline fracture. You took a club to the lower back, but looking at you standing there, I don't need to say more, do I? It’s just a muscle strain, didn't even touch the bone. Fifty is unreasonable."

"How about this: Si and his group were the ones acting like fools and breaking the rules. The money will come from them. I’ll make the call: I’ll compensate you thirty. Let’s end this here. How about that?"

"Fine."

Su Yu was not a nitpicker. He was just unwilling to let it go; he had finally made some money today, only to end up injured. If he had to sink dozens of yuan into medical bills, it truly wouldn't be worth it.

Of course, he hadn't spoken up in front of everyone without being certain of his ground. Those who ran the black market prioritized peace for the sake of profit. If they kept causing trouble that led to reports and police raids, they wouldn't be able to stay in business. Therefore, despite their intimidating act, they wouldn't push anyone to the brink. It wasn't worth it to have a death on their hands over this.

Fox waved a hand, and someone stepped forward. The men lying on the ground were searched, yielding a total of twelve yuan. Fox covered the rest of the amount himself.

"Buddy, we're square. I hope this ends here."

"Understood."

It was a warning, as well as a statement of attitude and boundaries.

Accepting the money, Su Yu didn't say another word. He steadied his bicycle, let Huzi sit on the back, and took the handlebars himself, leaving the area immediately.

"Brother Yu, is your back okay? Should I ride instead?"

Huzi had only injured his left hand; his other hand was fine, so riding wouldn't be a problem.

"It's nothing. My lower back is just a muscle strain, the bones are fine. Don't worry. Let's go to the hospital and check it out so we don't end up with any lingering issues."

Huzi didn't refuse. His arm was indeed hurting, and he didn't know if there was a fracture, so he needed to have it checked.

The two arrived at the county hospital, registered at the emergency room, and saw a specialist.

"Nothing major. Your friend’s arm muscles are damaged, but the bone should be fine. If you're worried, you can get an X-ray, but I don't think it's necessary. As for you, it’s just a muscle injury. One bottle of safflower oil for each of you will suffice."

"Should we... maybe get the X-ray? Just to be safe?"

The doctor spoke up, muttering, "I just felt the bone. There's no obvious protrusion, and since he can hold things, it suggests there's no fracture or break. Even if there were a hairline fracture, it would only require rest to heal. Whether it’s a fracture or not isn't that important; at most, I'd just give you some anti-inflammatory medicine."

"Brother Yu, it's fine. Look, I can still move my arm, it just hurts a bit."

"Fine. If it gets worse tomorrow, you must tell me."

The doctor applied a splint to Huzi’s arm, hanging it in a sling, and also applied the safflower oil.

"Alright, you've both had the oil applied. It's nothing serious, just keep applying it when you get home."

"Got it. Thank you, Doctor."

The two bid the doctor farewell and began the ride back home.

"Sigh... such bad luck. I never expected that after helping a female educated youth during the day, I'd run into those guys at night."

Huzi kept muttering in the back, but Su Yu wasn't listening. Instead, he turned his focus to his system.

Host: Su Yu
Age: 19
Physique: 10
Strength: 15
Speed: 10
Skills: Fishing Lv3+, Basic Archery Lv9+, Tracking IV+4, Combat Lv1.
Skill Points: 0.

Indeed, he had unknowingly leveled up a skill. No wonder he felt as if he could see through his opponent's moves during the fight, as if he knew exactly where the enemy wanted to strike. It turned out he had leveled up his skills.

"Brother Yu, are you listening?"

"Ah, yes. By the way, tell the truth when we get back. Otherwise, if you go home with an injured arm, your dad will come looking for me to settle the score."

"Understood, don't worry."

Before long, they arrived at the village. Su Yu returned the bicycle and then went to Huzi's door. He took out the cloth bag, poured out half of the cornmeal, and handed it to Huzi.

"This is your share of the coarse grain. Also, this is the stuff we bought at the supply and marketing cooperative today. Here is your portion; deal with it yourself. I'm afraid if your old man comes out, he'll beat me up. I'm heading off."

With that, Su Yu grabbed his belongings and left. Huzi gave a sheepish smile and started knocking on his door.

Su Yu knocked on his own door and went inside.

"Why are you back so late? What happened?"

His eldest brother opened the door. Su Yu was exhausted; he tossed the items to Su Sheng and turned to head straight to his room.

Once he lit the lamp, Su Sheng followed him in with the goods.

"What did you buy? Don't go wasting money on random junk."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging. By the way, did the educated youth, Xu, come by the house today? Tell her I came back late."

"Oh, she did. I was just about to ask: how did you end up with her? Didn't you go to town with Huzi? You aren't playing some secret game, are you?"

Su Yu curled his lip and muttered, "There’s a reason you didn't get into college, big brother. Go to sleep; I don't have the energy to talk to you."

With that, Su Yu flopped onto the bed and covered himself with the quilt. Su Jin was woken up by the noise, and upon seeing Su Yu had returned and spotting the items on the floor, he was suddenly wide awake.

The eldest and the fourth brother began to inspect what the third brother had bought.

"This is... cornmeal, about forty catties. And this... six pairs of shoes? There's mine, the fourth's, the fifth's, and Mom and Dad's. And this, are these candied fruits?"

"I know this one; it's pastries, and twisted dough sticks."

The two brothers squatted on the floor, pulling items out one by one. Su Yu, meanwhile, was already fast asleep on the bed. Not long after, their mother came in; she had woken up upon hearing the knocking, though the eldest had gotten there first.

"Third one is back?"

She saw the eldest and the fourth squatted on the floor, each gnawing on a twisted dough stick.

"Ahem... it's the middle of the night, what are you two eating? Give them to me."

She took them away immediately, had her eldest son take the cornmeal to the kitchen, and locked the rest of the items in a large chest.

"Stop making noise. Can't you see the third one is exhausted? He's already snoring."

"Mom, third brother snores even when he isn't exhausted."

"You're the only one who talks too much. Go to bed."